


About You

by pitchblackfingernails



Category: One Piece
Genre: Also for me it's Jinbe not Jinbei or Jimbei or whatever, Because yes, First Impressions, First Meeting, I don't know how to end this, I just joined the fandom, Is this what you call slow burn?, Law takes his time to realise, Listen I refuse to write Beppo with one p, M/M, Marineford, Mugiwara no Ichimi | Straw Hat Pirates, Pining Law, Sabaody Archipelago, Some parts I made up, Some parts are retellings, Swearing, i think, mostly canon-compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-13 19:46:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11192145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pitchblackfingernails/pseuds/pitchblackfingernails
Summary: “Is he serious?!” He heard faintly from Eustass-ya’s direction.And it seemed that he was. Because “Straw Hat” Monkey D. Luffy, dodged one, two bullets that flew in his direction, formed a fist, pulled his arm back, and then, with a shout, hit the face of one of the World Nobles with a force that sent the sucker flying halfway across the room, completely shattering the benches that were in the way in the process.And grunted in satisfaction, a fierce and proud look on his face.Law would be lying if he claimed that the sight didn’t make his heart skip a beat.Fucking hell. So that was Monkey D. Luffy.





	1. One: First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> There we go. Another fandom. another ship, another fanfic. It's the circle of life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really should work on my Kagehina fic, but somehow I have a massive block, and I just finished watching One Piece, too, and I regret so much not having started earlier, and I love it so much... And this is somehow the result of all that.  
> And my laptop was broken for like two months, so...  
> Wellp, I hope you enjoy the result of my procrastination.

Law was on the deck of the Polar Tang, leaning on a sleeping Beppo and enjoying a nice rest, when the News Coo appeared on the horizon, its little messenger bag crammed full.

“Shachi!” He called out to his crewmate.

“What is it?”

“Get a newspaper and the newest wanted posters from the News Coo.”

“Sure thing, Captain.” Obeying his orders, the man called the bird over, exchanging a stack of paper for a few coins. The seagull cawed and took flight once more, ready to continue to do its job.

“Here you go, Captain.”

“Yeah.” He took the bundle from Shachi’s hands, deciding to read the paper first and look at the posters later.

‘ _ATTACK ON ENIES LOBBY_ ’, the front page screamed, in big, bold letters. Law raised one eyebrow in disbelief, but there was no mistaking the picture directly underneath it: a ravaged island, destroyed buildings… Enies Lobby had been completely obliterated.

He smirked, his interest piqued, and started to read the article. Apparently, a group of pirated had savagely attacked the government institution, demolishing everything in their path, to release two heinous criminals that were being escorted to Impel Down and Navy Headquarters, managing to escape. In the process, they had also declared war on the World Government, setting their flag on fire in front of a number of officials. The article appealed to anyone having any relevant information about this ‘band of heartless terrorists’ to provide information at the nearest Marine base. Of course, as always, the doctor took the news with a grain of salt, knowing that most of it was crap and that the World Government spread their propaganda like this, spinning their tale as it suited them. However, the story left him pensive, pondering who these crazy bastards were, attacking Enies Lobby as they pleased.

The Straw Hat Pirates, the article had said, led by their captain… Monkey… something. He peeked at the article once more. And his eyes became as wide as saucers. Monkey D. Luffy. A D. He stared at the letters, but they didn’t change. In his memory, the phrase echoed: _The Will of the D. will certainly call up another storm again._

He set the newspaper aside and reached for the wanted poster, looking for the names mentioned in the article…” Cyborg” Franky, “Devil’s Child” Nico Robin, “Black Foot” Sanji (whose poster had a rather disturbing drawing of the guy), “Sogeking” (what kind of mask was he even wearing?), “Cat Burglar” Nami (who looked like she was posing for one of the magazines that Penguin and Shachi kept under their matresses), “Cotton Candy Lover” Chopper (who really looked like a stuffed toy you’d find on the pink bed of a little girl), Roronoa Zoro…

And finally, the captain, “Straw Hat” Monkey D. Luffy, who didn’t look like a vicious lawbreaker at all. He was waving at the camera, a huge smile on his face, with his eyes closed. He looked like a child at a birthday party or something.

But still, a 300 million bounty… It seems like his outrageous madness wasn’t the only thing to look out for. That amount indicated that he had the strength to back it up (even though Law knew that bounties often did not accurately match the strength of the person they belonged to).

“Hey, Captain!” Beppo, who had awoken from his nap, tugged on his sleeve. The doctor turned around to find the newspaper in his face. “Look, there’s something about you and some other guys in here!”

Wondering what it could be, Law looked at what the bear was pointing at with his massive white paw.

A picture of his own face stared at him, under an article titled ‘Eleven Supernovas?’. Apparently, no less than eleven rookie pirates with a bounty of over a hundred million had raged across the first half of the Grand Line and about to enter the New World.

He saw some faces he did not recognize, and double checked them with the posters. Indeed, they all had high bounties. There were a few pirates he did recognize: Eustass “Captain” Kid, and his first mate, Killer. The former had the highest bounty of them all, and he had heard about him, as well as how his crew’s indiscriminate attacks had a lot of collateral damage in form of civilian casualties. The worst kind of scum. Law frowned in disgust, deciding not to dwell on the asshole and continued to look at his fellow Supernovas. And, once again, faces he recognized, and had become acquainted with not too long ago. Two members of the Straw-Hats: Zoro-ya and Straw Hat-ya.

“Wait, but if they are all heading for the New World the way that we are, that means…” Law was sure that, under all that fur, blood was draining from Beppo’s face.

Nevertheless, he smiled, amused. “Yes,” He said, confirming his navigator’s fears. “All of them will be passing through Sabaody Archipelago, and at the same time as us, too.”  
The bear looked at his captain, horrified. But the doctor could honestly say that he was kind of looking forward to meeting all of the sick bastards and scout out the competition for One Piece.

It sounded like they were going to have some fun.

 

ᴥ ᴥ ᴥ

 

He had been having such a good time in Sabaody Archipelago. He had borne witness to a fight between Killer and “Mad Monk” Urouge, which, much to his chagrin, had been interrupted by “Red Flag” X Drake just as things were getting interesting. He had also caught a glimpse of a few of the other Supernovas here and there, and was now sitting in the Human Auction House, or, as the Marines liked to call it, “Public Employment Security Office”. It made Law want to laugh because of how ridiculous it was. The reason he was visiting was because he had learned that it was being sponsored by Doflamingo under the radar, and any information pertaining the Warlord was important to Law, who was storing as much data as possible to take the fucker down.

For some unknown reason, Eustass was there, too. The bastard had the audacity to tell him that he had a bad reputation, and he hadn’t been able to resist the urge to flip him off.

No matter how useful it might be to watch the auctions, it was beginning to make him sick, seeing all these complacent people think that they were better than the rest of them, that money could buy everything, even human life and dignity. And the Celestial Dragons were right in the middle of it, too good to even breathe the same air as humans, even though they were the ones that were truly rotten.

He watched in utter contempt as they were selling a mermaid. The disgusting fuckers were practically drooling at the sight of her, willing to spend as much money as they had in their way too deep pockets to buy her and let her be something like decoration in their lavish homes. And then, the Celestial Dragon bid 500 million. He looked at the stage once more, at the young mermaid that was now crying and hitting the fish bowl that trapped her with her fists, as the fat son of a bitch smiled smugly. Even that asshole Eustass had had enough at this point, apparently not being able to watch anymore, turning away and heading for the exit, past the few members of the Straw Hat crew that were there, too, and looked as angry and disgusted and defeated as he felt. He watched as the auctioneer raised his mallet over his head, visibly pleased at the amount of money that had suddenly come his way in such an unexpected manner, and brought it down, down, down-

CRASH!

Startled, the doctor turned his head towards the source of the sound, and, to his surprise, saw the renowned Straw Hat Luffy with the other Supernova in his crew, Zoro. The captain was arguing with a person he did not recognize, complaining about a horrible landing. Next to them, a knocked-out flying fish was buried in the rubble that looked suspiciously like parts of the wall and door of the building, and some of the seat rows were now empty and ruined. Law smiled in approval. Well, if nothing else, they guy certainly knew how to make an entrance.

Apparently, they had settled the matter for the moment, since the newly arrived had finally stopped fighting. Straw Hat was now looking for someone named Keimi, and since he started running towards the stage, he assumed that it was the mermaid. However, his mad charge was stopped by one of the people who had been with the Straw Hats, but he had most definitely not seen in in any bounty posters. Suddenly, four other arms were wrapped around the boy’s body. A fishman.

Screams of disgust reached his ears. Panicked, the fishman let go of Straw Hat, but it was too late. He had already been spotted. And, just as the finally free boy was making his way to the stage once again, the sound of a gunshot sliced the air. The captain of the Straw Hats turned around just in time to see his wounded friend fall, and the offender jumping and shouting in glee at the prospect of a new slave, free of charge.

Now completely enraged, Monkey D. Luffy was about to fly off the handle, until his friend grabbed him. Law could not hear the conversation from his side of the room, but he could see the tears streaming down the octopus man’s face, and the pirate’s expressions. He took the arm of the fishman and pressed it against the wound silently.  
But then, the spoiled brat had to interrupt once more, aiming his gun at the man he had already shot.

If the fishman’s speech had managed to calm Luffy down at all, which Law did very much doubt, it was all for naught when the captain of the Straw Hats saw that his friend was being threatened. Nothing could stop him now. But stop him? What was he going to do? There was simply no way…

Slowly, he rose and started walking in the Celestial Dragon’s direction, his steps controlled, reined it. And the look he was giving the guy who had shot his friend… It looked like a giant facing a small bug, and, surprisingly, the World Noble was the insect in this situation.

But, whatever made those stuck-up assholes so superior to the rest of the world, it definitely wasn’t brains. Any fool would have noticed the murderous aura that the boy was emitting, that was streaming out of his very pores. The bloodlust that rolled of him in suffocating waves and filled the eyes of the rest of the audience with fear. And yet the asshole still thought he was better, still threatened and provoked the beast that was advancing steadily.

“Straw Hat-ya…”

“Is he serious?!” He heard faintly from Eustass-ya’s direction.

And it seemed that he was. Because “Straw Hat” Monkey D. Luffy, dodged one, two bullets that flew in his direction, formed a fist, pulled his arm back, and then, with a shout, hit the face of one of the World Nobles with a force that sent the sucker flying halfway across the room, completely shattering the benches that were in the way in the process.  
And grunted in satisfaction, a fierce and proud look on his face.

Law would be lying if he claimed that the sight didn’t make his heart skip a beat.

Fucking hell. So _that_ was Monkey D. Luffy.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it for now, I guess. I actually had to stop myself from writing more because I actually have things to do tomorrow and would not be able to catch up on the sleep that I would be losing if I let myself run wild now.  
> But no worries, my fellow shippers, more of my delusions will soon be following. I'm a slut for my ships.


	2. Two: Til We Meet Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... did not think it would be this soon. My obsession is clearly stronger than I thought. And on top of that, the chapter is almost a thousand words longer. I'm beyond help.  
> Anyway, here you go.

It was quiet, like the calm before the storm. The rich buyers watched in fear as the Celestial Dragon groaned, his swollen face against the floor. Luffy put his hat on and cracked his knuckles, completely calm in the face of what he had done.

Law smiled. He liked this guy’s guts. So did Eustass, apparently, judging from his short laugh.

The captain of the Straw Hats turned to his crew. “Sorry, guys. They’ll call a warship and an admiral because I hit him, right?”

Zoro sheathed the sword he had partially drawn. “Because you beat him up, I couldn’t cut him.”

The rest of the crew sprang into action, their only objective to save their marine friends, who were moved to tears.

Then, the old World Noble began shooting at them, enraged. Panicking, the audience headed for the exit, trying to get away as fast as possible. Law didn’t move an inch. He felt that he should stick around and enjoy this show as much as possible.

The guy in a suit, who the Heart doctor just barely recognized as Black Foot, kicked the gun out of the old fart’s hand, finally provoking the attack of the guards.

And so, the fighting started. To say they were eccentric would be an understatement, to say they were crazy would be an insult to any other person who belonged in that category.

The cyborg shot bullets from his left arm, his right arm extended with a chain, and he could breathe fire. The green-head used three swords to create twisters so strong they carried the enemies off. The red-headed girl somehow created clouds and thunder, and the captain himself…

It was difficult to discern among the chaos, but it looked like he had a thousand arms, delivering punches at an incredible speed. There was also something not quite right with his body, it moved weirdly.

“Keimi isn’t for sale!” Law was woken from his reverie. Admirable words, really. However, they only riled the old Celestial Dragon up further, causing him to finally order his subordinate to call for the Navy backup. Luffy didn’t seem fazed at all by the fact that one of the strongest Marines had been ordered to return to HQ with his head.

“Straw Hat-ya Luffy… A bounty of 300 million, huh?” How did Eustass possibly have a higher bounty than this guy? He was sure that that blood-thirsty asshole was not even close to how dangerous the boy currently fighting was for the World Government.

As if the present Straw Hats weren’t wrecking enough havoc already, the rest of the crew arrived at the scene as flashily as their captain had done, crashing through the ceiling with flying fish. Then, Nico Robin grew wings and somehow dislocated the necks of a few of the guards, while a skeleton clumsily tripped and fell.

He could hardly believe his eyes. They were the weirdest bunch he had ever laid his eyes upon. And then, the last remaining member dropped from above, managing to fall right on the World Noble.

They were truly ridiculous as a whole, he observed with amusement.

“As soon as we get the collar off, we’re leaving!” The captain of the crew instructed.

“If we don’t hurry, a warship and an admiral will arrive!” Nami exclaimed. The guy with the long nose looked like he was about to pass out.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Law finally interrupted their conversation, drawing their attention.

“The Navy is already here, Straw Hat-ya.”

He turned his head towards him. “What’s with you?” However, Luffy’s interest in him was short-lived. “And what’s with that bear?”

Embarrassed, Beppo blushed looked away.

“They have had this hall surrounded since before the start of the auction. After all, there’s a HQ outpost on this archipelago. I have no idea who they wanted to catch, but they couldn’t have known that someone was going to beat up the Celestial Dragons, could they?” He laughed. “You’ve shown me something interesting… Straw Hat crew.”

“You are Trafalgar Law, correct?” Nico Robin asked him. She seemed very intelligent. “Luffy, he’s a pirate.”

“Huh?” Her captain turned his gaze towards them once more. “The bear too?”

 

ᴥ ᴥ ᴥ

 

To say it had been a surprise to see “Dark King” Rayleigh would be an understatement. After all, it wasn’t every day you got to see a living legend. And, what was more, he seemed to be interested in Straw Hat-ya (who, for some reason, didn’t have a single clue who the man was), which really made him wonder what the small captain was made of.

However, he didn’t have the time to analyze his thoughts right now, since the Navy addressed them with a Baby Den Den Mushi.

“Criminals inside, please release the Roswald family! An admiral will be here shortly. It would be safer to surrender. You don’t know what’ll happen if you do otherwise, rookies!”

Law smiled. They were in for it now. “So they’re not only dragging us into this, but they’re treating us as his accomplices, too…”

“Well, I see that Straw Hat Luffy is every bit as crazy as the rumors state. Not to complain, but I won’t stick around to clash with an admiral.”

Rayleigh looked up from his wounded fishman friend. “Yes, I can’t use the same power as before, so I’m counting on you. It would be a pain if the Navy found out my identity.”

Eustass snorted. “I have no intention of getting saved by an old man. But the longer we stay, the more soldier’s there’ll be. I’ll be going on ahead. As a favor to you guys, I’ll save you. I’ll take care of cleaning up outside, so you just stay here and relax.”

 _That bastard_. Law clenched his teeth in irritation. As if he was going to give him the satisfaction. He would go out there and get rid of every single soldier himself.

“No way!” Luffy suddenly shouted. “I'll fight them.” He took off running, following the red-haired captain. Not wanting to be left behind, Law followed.

“That will not be necessary, I’ll be taking them on.”

Luffy looked at him. “Like I said, I won’t let you guys hog all the fun!”

“Shut up…”

“I said I’ll do it myself!” Straw Hat persisted.

“Stop bickering already…” Law said, already feeling annoyed.

“Really?” Eustass asked at the same time, defiantly.

“Shut up, just shut up, you two!” Luffy fumed, impatient.

“You’re so noisy...” Law sighed in exasperation.

“What did you say?!” Straw Hat looked at him, ticked off.

“Like I said, leave this to me!” They had finally reached the exit, the Marines already in sight.

“No, I’ll do it!”

“Don’t order me around.” The doctor looked at Eustass.

“You don’t get it, do you?”

“You’re the one who doesn’t get it!”

Luffy interrupted their bickering. “All right, you guys stay back!”

“Oi, are you listening to me? I said that you two should stay away!”

Law had had enough. “Try to give me one more order, and you’ll be the first one I’ll be taking out, Eustass-ya!”

Even while the Navy took aim at them, they continued arguing.

“I’ll go!” Luffy stated, confidently.

“Leave it to me.” Eustass said.

“Try it, if you want to get hurt.” Law answered. “For this place…”

“I’m more than enough!” Somehow the three of them were in perfect synchronization. Law flinched internally.

And then, the Navy started firing their mortars. The doctor created a Room, quickly exchanging a Marine’s head with the cannonball. He laughed at the confusion in the gazes of the onlookers, playing with the head like a child would with a ball. This was what he enjoyed most about his ability: the way he could not only mess with his victim’s bodies, but also with their minds.

It seemed that whatever the other two captains had done, they hadn’t taken any damage from the attack either. He had seen Eustass repel the cannonball, causing it to fly back in the direction it came from. He assumed that he was also a Devil Fruit eater, and that his powers were related to magnetism.

Just as he wanted to go for another attack, a hand appeared on front of him, stopping him in his tracks.

“Don’t do anything, either of you! You’ll just get on the way!” The red-haired captain smirked arrogantly.

Law was most definitely feeling pissed off. He really was going to take the bastard’s head. “I already told you! Tell me what to do and- “

His complaints were interrupted by a shout. “Leave it to me!” Straw Hat-ya yelled, unperturbed, dashing towards the soldiers in front of him.

The doctor smiled. The guy really had some balls. And he had completely ignored Eustass-ya. He was starting to like him even more, the crazy bastard.

Seeing his approach, the Marines fired their mortars in rapid succession, all of them aiming at the smallest captain.

But as the cannonballs were flying towards him, he intertwined his fingers and then, somehow, made them become longer, almost like-

“He can stretch?!” Eustass put his thoughts in words. Indeed, it was like his fingers had stretched.

“What kind of weird power is that?” He had never seen something like that before.

Luffy collected all the shells inside the net he had formed with his fingers and then started to swing it around.

Entranced by the display of his weird powers, Eustass and Law noticed the cannonball that had slipped out of the net and was about to hit them almost too late, managing to dodge just in time.

“What are you doing?!” The doctor smiled, not angry at all, unlike the other captain.

“Sorry!” Straw Hat apologized, his voice light and a big smile on his face. He was having fun.

“Straw Hat! You really are screwed up in the head!” The red-head shouted.

The guy paid him no mind, however, laughing as the Marines charged towards them. He then released the ammunition, letting them rain on the unsuspecting soldiers, who quickly turned around and tried to get back to safety.

The Navy did not give up, and fired another volley at Luffy, who managed to dodge them all. Law was struck by his speed and agility. Seeing that it was futile, another bunch of soldiers attacked, but were quickly taken out with an outstretched leg. The mortars were fired once more and blew the hat from his head.

“Oh no!” Noticing, Straw Hat dove towards his trademark accessory, stretching his arm to catch it before it hit the grass, and putting it on again. “That was close…”

Seeing that he was on the ground, the Marines charged at him, but were promptly stopped by Eustass, who, tired of seeing Luffy show off, attacked attracting and then repelling the weapons the Navy had dropped.

Reinforcements arrived, making Law smile. “Sheesh, there are a lot more of them than I expected…”

“You guys sure have weird powers!” Straw-Hat, coming back to their side, exclaimed.

The red-haired pirate looked at him from the corner of his eye. “I’d say yours is the weirdest.”

Smiling, Law had to admit that he had to agree with the asshole here. Straw Hat really had the most eccentric ability out of them.

“Really?”

Desperate, the Marines started to talk amongst themselves.

“I can’t believe that mortars don’t work against them!”

“They sure live up to their notorious names!”

“This is no time to be impressed! Hold out until the admiral arrives!”

The doctor smiled. “Like we’re going to wait that long.” He returned the head of the soldier he had been playing with and, taking advantage of the confusion, created another Room, cutting all the Marines inside it into pieces.

“Make yourselves comfortable. It’ll be over before you know it.” He said, sheathing his sword.

The soldiers in his grasp, however, were distracted by both the arm Eustass-ya had made out of weapons and the arm Luffy had somehow enlarged. It kind of made him feel insulted. “This is no time to be admiring other people.”

He started to shuffle all of the dismembered body parts around, enjoying the screams for a little before arranging them in random ways. A torso on top of another, four arms instead of a body, just a head and a leg…

Then, the other two captains delivered the final attack, punching the remaining Marines with their huge fists.

Just then, their crews came out to find them admiring their work. Law turned to look at the other captains… and saw a child in the place Luffy should’ve stood. It took him a few seconds to realize that the child was, in fact, Straw Hat, and that he had somehow… shrunk.

“What’s with that, Straw Hat-ya? It’s not a very good finish…”

“Really?” Child Luffy seemed unaffected.

“Their formations mean nothing now.”

The Navy then charged at them, all out of plans.

Just in time, Luffy reverted to his adult form. “Oh, I’m back to normal!” He laughed, carefree.

“Alright, Straw Hat.” Eustass said. “I’m glad I got to meet you. But next time we see each other, I won’t show you any mercy.”

Well, the three of them were pirates, after all, weren’t they? Mercy wasn’t exactly in their vocabulary.

“Hmm…” Straw Hat appeared to think it over. “But I’m going to find One Piece.”

 _What?_ Law narrowed his eyes. Well, it kind of was to be expected, after all. Most pirates dreamed of the legendary treasure. But to meet with someone who could say it that openly, that confidently, even in front of two other captains who clearly had the same goal and were not afraid to fight for it… It was unusual to find someone with that kind of guts.

Luffy laughed, his face relaxed.

The red-haired captain looked at the smaller pirate, pensive. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that his first mate had to stop an incoming attack. When he berated him for having his guard down, Kid completely ignored it.

“You know, Killer… Up until now, we’ve been laughed at and ridiculed every time we mentioned finding One Piece, and every time that happened, I ruthlessly slaughtered everyone who had done so. But what is waiting for us is a sea of death for those who don’t have the guts to say it.”

Once again, Law had to agree. Things really stopped being a game when you crossed over the Red Line. However, he had no intention to play. He had a goal that he wanted to accomplish, more than anything, no matter the cost. He was going to take Doflamingo down, even if it meant death.

He was pulled out of his daydream. “Let’s meet again in the New World!” The doctor sincerely wished for it. He was sure beating Eustass-ya up would feel wonderful, and meeting someone as interesting as Straw Hat-ya again seemed like it would be fun.

The three crews then split. Each of them would have to make it out of there on their own. One Navy soldier, enraged by how Law had messed with his companions earlier, went to attack him.

The captain didn’t even look at him. “Beppo.”

The bear immediately took care of him, knocking him out with a powerful kick in the face. He proceeded to beat the approaching Marines, defeating them with his martial arts skills. Meanwhile, the doctor headed back to the man he had seen waiting at the entrance of the auction hall. If it was who he thought he was, then he could prove to be quite useful.

“Why?” The huge man asked when he released him.

“Will you come join me, pirate captain Jean Bart?”

The eyes of the man in question widened in surprise. He probably hadn’t expected anyone to recognize him. Beating multiple attacking soldiers with a single punch, he looked at Law. “It’s been a long time since anyone called me that. If it means I can be free from the Celestial Dragons, I will gladly become your subordinate!”

Jean Bart’s new captain smirked. “Save half of your gratitude for Straw Hat-ya.”

But if he wanted to take care of it now, it was too late. His crew were the first to flee the scene, on the backs of the flying fish they had been riding before.

And just like that, they were gone, the only proof of their having been there the chaos they left behind. But, according to the rumors, that seemed one of their more defining traits.

Law was sure he would see more of them on the other side. After he had escaped the mess the infamous crew had thrown him into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, yeah.  
> So next time you can look forward to Marineford, or dread it (WHY ACE, WHY?!)  
> But anyway, it's an important part of their relationship so I'll be writing a lot, probably. I really want to write it since I'll be throwing a lot of my own delusions into it.
> 
> Wellp then, till next time!


	3. Three: Pick up the Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somebody please stop me I have so many other things I should be doing.

Law had read the news about Fire Fist’s capture weeks ago, and had been following the story ever since. It was clear to him that there would be a war, and that it would be unlike anything else this era had seen. A Yonko, and the one rumored to be the strongest man alive at that, and the Navy clashing. Anyone with half a brain could guess that if (and by if, he meant when, since there was no way Whitebeard would let one of his commanders be executed without doing anything) something like that happened, it would have far-reaching consequences and would start something even the World Government wouldn’t be able to stop.

It didn’t mean he wasn’t surprised when, during the broadcast of Ace’s supposed execution, Whitebeard’s ship appeared in the middle of the Marineford bay. It seemed like the worst-case scenario really was going to happen.

But the Heart captain could say without doubt that what shocked him the most was the fact that Straw Hat-ya dropped from the sky with a Navy ship along with notorious Impel Down prisoners, including but not limited to: Crocodile, a former Shichibukai; Jinbe, a theoretically current Shichibukai and Ivankov, a famous member of the Revolutionary Army. Seriously, how did he even know these people? And how had he infiltrated and then escaped Impel Down so openly, with hundreds of prisoners in tow? Why had he even gone to the most secure prison in the world in the first place? And why was he now at Marineford, about to get involved in a war in which only monsters had a chance of surviving?

“Eh?! Isn’t that Straw Hat Luffy that just fell from above?” Beppo asked, his eyes popping out of his skull.

“It is!” Penguin confirmed. “What is he doing in Marineford?”

“That’s so reckless…” Jean Bart murmured, his eyes glued to the live feed.

It was. When Luffy had punched a Celestial Dragon before, Law had confirmed that he was as crazy as the rumors said he was. After all, he had done it knowing that they had the power to summon an admiral and a warship. But this was another level of madness. At the moment, all three admirals, an amazing number of elite navy soldiers, including all ranks from vice-admiral to captain, and even the fleet admiral himself were present at Marineford, not to mention the warships and the fact that it was headquarters. There was no one in the world who didn’t know this. So why? Why was Luffy willing to fight?

The answer presented itself in due time.

“I’m your brother!” Law’s jaw dropped, for the first time in his life. Brothers? But Fire Fist was the Gol D. Roger’s son. Luffy was too young to be his son too.

But once again, his questions were answered. “They grew up as stepbrothers. He is the son of the revolutionary Dragon!” The captain’s head was spinning. So much information, in so little time. How was all of it happening? However, Straw Hat was unaffected, not caring that he had been revealed to be the son of who people called the worst criminal in history.

“Say what you want!” the Straw Hat captain shouted at his brother on screen. “I’m going to save you even if it means death!”

And the Heart doctor was sure that he meant it, too. He had punched a Celestial Dragon for a friend and attacked Enies Lobby and incurred the wrath of the World Government for a crew mate. What was there he wouldn’t do for his brother, then? Probably nothing. He really would die happily if it meant he could save Ace.

Still in disbelief, he watched the battle raged from the safety of Sabaody Archipelago, while countless men fought to death in a not so distant location. It was crazy, getting involved in a war like that. Both the Navy and the Whitebeard Pirates had to know that fighting each other was madness, that many people would die, no matter how strong they were, and that, no matter who won, it would have far-reaching consequences. So what place did a rookie like Straw Hat-ya have in a place like that? He was going to die for sure. Law’s gut tightened uncomfortably.

While he was mulling it all over, the Pacifistas arrived at Marineford, and it was stated that Whitebeard had struck a deal with the Navy. And suddenly, the broadcast was shut off.

What was it that the Marines did not want anyone to see? What exactly was happening at Marineford?

“Whitebeard sold out his allies? That’s bullshit. He would never do that. That’s why he’s a living legend.” He turned around, facing his crew. “Let’s set sail, Beppo!”

“Aye aye, Captain!” Came the reply.

If anyone had asked him the reason, he could not have answered. But he figured that moving would feel better than just sitting around watching like a loser.

 

ᴥ ᴥ ᴥ

 

Why was he even doing this? Heading to Marineford, where the fiercest battle since the dawn of the Great Pirate Age was taking place? Had he gone insane?

Law wasn’t really the type to listen to his instincts. He was no brainless animal. Thinking things through logically before acting was the best and most rational thing to do. And, following that reasoning, he really had no business in this war.

And yet, why? Why did he feel like this was something he really needed to do? Why was he listening to the nagging little voice inside his head that told him he absolutely had to be there? But, maybe, he really knew what he was there to do, but would not admit it to himself, since he had no reason for his actions.

The captain wished he was able to turn his thoughts off, since they were driving him crazy with questions he could not possibly answer.

Thankfully, his crew didn't question him either, which was a blessing, considering he wouldn’t have been able to justify his decision.

Seeing that they were nearing their destination, Law’s entire body grew tense. Unable to stop himself, he unsheathed Kikoku a few centimeters.

“Captain, we’ve reached the point where it’s not frozen!” Beppo informed him.

Law processed the information. He sheathed his sword again “Surface.”

As they ascended, Law headed to the deck of his ship. He opened the hatch and stepped up to the railing, surveying the battlefield from above.

Sweltering heat, biting cold, screams, anger, tears, the smell of blood – all of them swirled in the air, infecting the atmosphere with a sense of despair and death. The Heart doctor’s eyes widened. So this was battle. This was what war felt like. He felt like he was drowning, and he wasn’t even fighting. However, this was no time to dwell on his thoughts. Time was of essence. He needed to what he had come for, and fast.

He searched the scene once more, until he found the person he was looking for: an unconscious Monkey D. Luffy was being carried by the also unconscious Shichibukai Jinbe, the First Son of the Sea, who, in turn, was being carried by Buggy, the pirate who supposedly had been part of Gol D. Roger’s crew. Somehow, the three of them were flying, hovering a few meters above the battle and doing their best to dodge incoming attacks. But it was easy to see that the situation was dire.

“Put Straw Hat-ya on my ship!” He called out to the man carrying the two notorious pirates.

“Huh? Straw Hat-ya? That’s a weird way to call somebody!” The red-nose answered, his brow furrowed. Thankfully, despite his stupidity he quickly realized that it wasn’t really relevant at the moment. “Who the hell are you, brat?!”

“Straw Hat-ya will become my enemy in the future, but even that kind of relationship is still a relationship. There’s no point in letting him die here.” He said, for his sake as much as anyone else’s. Beppo and Jean Bart stood next to him, ready to back him up if necessary. “I’m going to help him get away from here. Let me take care of him!”

“W-what?!”

“I’m a doctor.”

“Are you kidding me?! What kind of doctor carries around a sword?!” Buggy apparently had a problem with his appearance and didn’t think him very trustworthy. And his ship, too. “Do you visit your patients by submarine?”

“How is this an issue right now? You’re too slow! Hurry up and hand him over!”

“I said, who the hell are you?!”

The Navy started firing at the three floating pirates, but luckily, Buggy managed to dodge. At the same time, Penguin ran to him. “Captain, Navy ships are approaching off the stern.”

Law gritted his teeth. They needed to get out of here, and fast. “Hurry up! Put those two on my ship!”

Beppo’s panicked voice came from behind him. “Captain, we’ll be in range of the Navy ships soon!”

“Do something, Beppo!” Jean Bart was still standing beside him, looking up at Straw Hat. He was the man who had enabled him to become free, after all.

“What? You’re not the captain, you newcomer!” In a less tense situation, Law might have rolled his eyes. But right now was not the time for this.

“They’re coming from this side, too!” Shachi called out.

Completely surrounding the submarine, the ships were about to open fire when a tremor shook the sea, saving them.

“Wh-what is this?” Beppo shouted, holding on for dear life. His captain clicked his tongue. Blackbeard’s new power sure was dangerous. It seemed like everything was shaking; the sea, the sky, the island… Just how had the bastard taken the power from Whitebeard? Enemy ships capsized and crashed into one another.

However, Akainu was not deterred. “I won’t let you get away!” Like a hunter in pursuit of prey, his resolve was unshakeable. Luckily, the Whitebeard commanders stood in his way, guaranteeing them a short period of time they could use to escape – if the stupid blue-haired captain handed Luffy and Jinbe over.

Then, a beam of light shot a hole through Buggy’s coat, missing him by a hair’s breadth.

“Why don’t you leave Straw Hat Luffy here with us?”

Shit.

“It’s Kizaru!” Beppo shielded his eyes from the light.

Law was getting impatient. “Get them on the ship now!”

Thankfully, the clown seemed more interested in getting rid of the dead weight in his arms and getting away rather than questioning his dubious appearance. “Okay, I leave them to you, Whoever You Are! Do your best!” And he threw them onto the deck.

“Catch them, Jean Bart!” Beppo ordered the man, who complied with ease thanks to his enormous size. “Yes, that’s it!” The bear gave him a thumbs up.

“Submerge!” Now, escape was their first and only priority. He was sure the Navy wasn’t willing to let Dragon’s son and Fire Fist’s little brother get away without fighting back. Time was of essence.

Unluckily, it seemed like an admiral held a grudge against him. “How dare you get away from us at Sabaody Archipelago, Trafalgar Law?” Kizaru said while preparing his attack, in that annoying deceptively calm voice of his.

The Heart crew ignored him, focusing on getting the two wounded men into the ship. Beppo, who was carrying Luffy, looked down at the guy in question in dismay. “He’s severely injured! Is he even alive? Let’s run!”

“Dammit!” Law watched as Kizaru was about to fire off his attack and completely shred his ship.

“That’s enough!” A desperate voice rung out, echoing through the battlefield and saving the lives of the entire crew and their patients. Law gasped in surprise. A young Navy soldier, tears streaming down his face, had managed to bring the war to a standstill. He stood in front of Akainu, arms outstretched, even as the admiral glared down at him.

“Coby!” Another soldier, with long blond hair, called out to him.

“Let’s end this now!” Ignoring his friend, the pink-haired boy carried on. “Let’s not fight anymore! We’re wasting people’s lives! Every single soldier has a family waiting for them to come home! We accomplished our goal already, but we’re still chasing pirates with no will to fight! We could stop, but we’re coveting more! We’re giving up on soldiers we could save if we treated them right away! On top of that, we keep multiplying the number of victims! Soldiers who fall after this… They’re no more than fools!”

The Marines kept rambling about “Justice” and even had the word emblazoned on their back, standing out boldly against their white coats, but, for the first time in his life, Law witnessed a soldier act in a way that vaguely resembled the principle of it. Saving their own people’s lives instead of mindlessly killing pirates who only wanted to escape with their lives, grieving over the loss of a captain, who’d been a father to them, and a commander, who they had considered family… Was it really an action the Navy would take? Would they listen to reason, who had appeared in form of this brave, devastated boy?

The doctor wished that he could answer that he believed the soldier had changed things, but he had seen too much of the world, knew too well how it worked. What could be expected of the military that protected the cruel Celestial Dragons and carried out the World Government’s twisted missions? The soldiers who destroyed whole towns and islands, for being plagued by an epidemic that wasn't even contagious, like Flevance, or for knowing too much, like Ohara? With a bitter smile, he answered his own question: nothing. They would not back down, and they would not listen to this soldier.

And so, Law readied himself to watch, once again, how the world worked in the present, and how greed and obsession, disguised as justice, set about to completely smother the only embers of hope in the Navy.

Akainu looked at the boy like a man might look at shit he had stepped upon by mistake and stuck to the sole of his shoe. “Eh? Who are you, you fool?” The soldier was out of breath, gasping for air. “You’ve wasted my time! We have no need for a soldier who doesn’t believe in justice!”

There was the word again. How ironic. And how sad. The admiral turned his fist into magma, pulled it back, and let it sail in the pink-haired boy’s, apparently called Coby, direction.

He was miraculously saved by a partly unsheathed sword that appeared out of nowhere in front of his face, completely stopping the blow. Law's jaw dropped when he saw that its wielder was no one else than "Red-Haired" Shanks, one of the Yonko and one of the four strongest pirates in the world.

“Well done, young Navy soldier!” he praised the boy, who had fallen unconscious from the shock. “The short moments you’ve created by courageously risking your life just now have changed the future of the world just now – for better or for worse.”

And as the Yonko uttered those fateful words, Beppo, who had been frozen by the threat Kizaru posed, began running again, carrying Monkey D. Luffy into the submarine. For a wild moment, Law wondered whether it was a coincidence, or the world trying to tell him something. But of course, it wasn’t the time to ponder those things right now.

“Hurry up! Bring him inside!” the Heart captain ordered.

“Aye aye!”

“Not a chance!” Almost playfully, the admiral began to gather light at his fingertips once more, but was stopped in his tracks by the click of a gun releasing the safety.

“Don’t do anything, Kizaru!” Benn Beckman, the famed gunner and first mate of the Red-Hair Pirates, threatened the light human. Still looking unconcerned, the admiral raised his hands, obviously recognizing he was in danger in spite of his apparent indifference.

The rookie doctor was not about to miss this chance he had been granted. With his crew inside the ship, he was set to get away. “Let’s go!”

As his crew mates prepared to sail out, he heard the words of the Yonko carry across the sea. “I’m here to stop this war.”

And while the battle outside had stopped raging, the one inside the Polar Tang was just about to start. His crew wheeled the two critically injured men in the direction of the operating room at full speed. “Prepare for surgery, both of them are bleeding uncontrollably!”

“We need to ready blood for transfusions!” Believing in his crew’s competence, Law let them make the necessary arrangements before the procedure, which he would handle himself. For the moment however, he stood by the hatch, observing what was unfolding outside, despite Beppo’s objections.

“Captain, it’s dangerous! Sure, you can’t see a Yonko that often, but close the door already!” But, for some reason, Law found himself unable to do so, watching as they left Marineford.

In the distance, he saw the floating Buggy catching something that had been thrown at him, then flailing around wildly, as if arguing with someone.

“Captain, Captain!” Beppo continued to chew his ear off. “They’re going to attack us if we don’t submerge soon! Please close the door!” Law guessed that it really was too much for the bear’s poor little anxious heart. The fact that he had even come to Marineford without putting up any resistance was a small miracle in itself.

“Okay.” He agreed reluctantly. He still felt like it was unfinished business, but staying visible meant certain death. They had to go, now. Just when he was about to finally head inside, he heard a shout. “Wait a minute.”

“I can’t wait anymore!” Beppo fussed.

It was Buggy again. Floating, he shouted something they couldn’t hear, and made a swinging motion with his arm.

“He threw something.” The doctor realized. As it approached and he could make out its form, a surprised sound escaped his throat.

He caught the straw hat. He looked at it, surprised that it had survived everything and made it back to its owner,. “This is…”

“Captain, hurry up, hurry up!” Was this what he’s been waiting for? He guessed it was. A signal that everything he could do here was finished. He had saved Straw Hat-ya and his straw hat. That had to be enough. Besides, there were patients inside that needed treatment.

“Okay!” His voice sounded much more determined now. With the hat in his hand, he headed inside, and let Beppo close the door.

The Polar Tang then started to submerge, disappearing in the sea, while the captain and the navigator of the ship made their way to the operating room. The former was grasping the hat in his hand tightly without realizing it.

Upon reaching the two wounded men, he handed the hat over to Penguin and put on a pair of disposable latex gloves. He wriggled his fingers, confirming that they were comfortable enough and the right size in order not to hinder his work. Then, a smirk appeared on his face. It was the same side of him that surfaced when he used his ability to fight. The part of him that liked dissecting and cutting up people, the macabre curiosity that made him the Surgeon of Death.

“Alright, let’s do this.” He looked at his patients, making a quick first diagnosis for both of them.

First, he looked at the blue fishman. “This one’s been shot through the stomach and is barely alive.” Then, his eyes wandered over to his fellow Supernova. “Straw Hat-ya is severely injured too, but I think there are more problems deep inside.”

“Should I administer anesthesia?” Penguin asked.

“There’s no need for that. Both of them are so hurt that they’re incapable of feeling pain right now. They don’t have the energy to complain, no matter how drastic the measures we take might be.” A smirk found its way onto his face as he stepped up to Luffy. “This’ll be a fun operation.”

He started on him, covering him with a white sheet and placing an oxygen mask on him. Having determined that his blood type was F, his crew had already located some blood bags and hooked him up, beginning the transfusion.

“His pulse is steadying.” His crew mate, who was watching the heartbeat on the monitor, informed his captain. Taking it all in, the surgeon continued working, absorbed by the body in front of him, until suddenly, the ship shook, and his crew members cried out.

“What’s that?”

“It’s an emergency! The water is starting to turn into ice!”

“Oh no! Oh no!” Beppo was having another of his fits, running around, panicked. “If nothing is done, we’re gonna get caught, Captain!”

Law had his hands full with the operation. Annoyed at the interruption, he pulled a face. “Do something!”

Beppo obviously did not handle responsibility well. His captain’s words only made him more anxious. Luckily, Jean Bart was able to take control. “We’ll submerge rapidly!” he shouted, pulling it off at the same time. The ice chased them, making the ship shake and a few of his crewmates fall, of course including Beppo. The doctor refused to budge, focused only on the patient in front of him, his objective saving the life in his hands.

“Did I lose him?” Jean Bart looked back.

“W-we made it!” The bear rejoiced, lying on the floor. However, his relief did not last long, since, once again, the ship was being attacked, its movements jerky. “Wh-what is it this time?”

Outside, through the window, they could see the little light balls flashing by. First Aokiji, now Kizaru. Just how bad did they want Monkey D. Luffy gone?

“Let’s go deeper – to the bottom of the sea!” Jean Bart, still in charge of the submarine, said.

“It’s gonna hit us! I’m sure that it’s gonna hit us!” Beppo lamented, having managed to stand up just to sway and fall down again.

Law looked up for a second. “Hurry up! At full speed!”

And then, the attack stopped. The crew continued holding their breath, waiting for more, waiting for their demise – but that was it. No more attacks. The threat was over, for now, at least. It didn’t mean the two people lying on the operation table would live. Only Law could do that. And so, once more, this time, without interruptions, he set about to save the lives of the two who had fought in what would go down in history as the War of the Best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm sorry but I hate Kizaru so much, Like you can't even imagine. I hate his face that looks smug as fuck all the time and I hate his voice that sounds like the misfit child of a trumpet and an elephant is talking through his nose.  
> I swear to you that I'm not lying when I say that every time he appears in the anime I need to take a deep breath to calm myself down.  
> Sometimes I even scream a little.
> 
> Honestly I wanted to do the entire thing (as in up until the two-year time skip) in this chapter, but as you can see I got carried away and just this much already took 1000 words more than last chapter (God why do my chapters keep getting longer), so I stopped myself.
> 
> But who am I kidding, I'll be back in a couple of days for sure, still whining about all the things I have to do instead of writing this,
> 
> Wellp, that's it for now folks.


	4. Four: Until You Wake Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a bit longer, but I finally managed to get some stuff done, too. Well, enjoy!

It had been a long, arduous operation. Jinbe had been bad enough, with the hole in his stomach. But Straw Hat… his body was something else entirely. Anywhere you looked, there was so much damage. Not only superficial, which there was plenty of, too: his hands and knuckles were scarred beyond belief, and his chest… that wouldn’t ever recover. He’d have a cross on his chest for the rest of his life to remind him of the war forever. But what was really worrying was what lay beyond the skin: damage to the muscles beyond belief, which should have made it impossible for him to even twitch, and older than Marineford, too. Law suspected that he had had a hard time in Impel Down, not only sneaking in and being captured, but also getting out. He had found faint traces of poison that could only stem from the warden Magellan’s ability in his body that had been somehow mostly removed. Had he had time to rest after the treatment, he probably could’ve recovered just fine, but having headed directly to the war after escaping the prison, which was a miracle in its own right, had been destructive. Law was sure that Luffy had shortened his life considerably, just on this day.

How had he been able to walk, not to mention run and fight, for the several hours that the battle had lasted? How was he alive after taking all that damage? He had never seen a body in such a condition that was still alive. Hell, he had seen corpses of people that had died with only a fraction of the injuries Straw Hat had sustained. He was seriously tough.

Pondering the impossibility of it, he exited the operating theater just as a crew member came running. “Captain, Boa Hancock has boarded our ship!”

Law couldn’t hide the surprise on his face. The Pirate Empress? What business did she have with them? It couldn’t be killing them, for sure. They would all have perished by now if that had been her design in coming here.

He headed for the deck, wanting to go meet her. He had his suspicions, but surely, it couldn’t be true, right? The woman in question was Boa Hancock, the Pirate Empress, known to hate every man alive. There must’ve been another reason why she had helped Luffy get away from Smoker… and surely it was a coincidence that at the time she had traveled to Impel Down, Straw Hat had snuck in. Because if they weren’t coincidences… there was only one reason she would act like she had.

As he reached the door, he hears her voice. “How is Luffy doing? Tell me now- “she stopped talking when she saw him step onto the deck.

“Oh, Captain!” Beppo looked relieved to see him, apparently intimidated by the presence of a Shichibukai.

“I did everything I could.” He informed her, wiping his hands on a towel.

“You mean, he’s okay?”

“We were able to stabilize him. However, he took greater damage than you think.” Greater than was humanly possible, too. He firmly believed that seeing that man breathing was a medical miracle. “There is no guarantee that he will survive yet.”

Clearly disturbed by his words, the Pirate Empress looked down.

“It’s no wonder!” A loud voice rang out. Law looked around to locate its source.

“Who’s talking?” Beppo asked, visibly hoping that it wasn’t the Navy.

“Straw Boy couldn’t stand up at Impel Down even once!” A man with a humongous head was leaning over the railing of Boa’s ship. The doctor recognized him as Ivankov, the member of the Revolutionary Army.

His companions, all dressed in eccentric outfits, nodded in affirmation. “Straw-Hat was risking his life!”

“We got out of prison thanks to him!”

“Because of him, we can make our dream come true: to go to the Kamabakka Kingdom!”

“Let’s go! To the New Kama’s home from New Kama Land!” The Heart captain’s eye twitched. Luffy… where did he get the ability to attract the weirdest people around and make them loyal to him?

But, as he thought, Straw Hat-ya had taken extensive damage in Impel Down, not even being able to stand up. The fact that he had made it through Marineford alive, and had even played an important role in it… It was unbelievable. Monkey D. Luffy was unbelievable.

“What are they?” Shachi was still contemplating the people on the ship, a puzzled look on his face.

Boa Hancock answered. “They are prisoners from Impel Down, Looks like they’re Luffy’s friends. They snuck onto the ship.”

Just then, Ivankov somersaulted onto their submarine. “I can’t believe that he pushed himself that hard! That’s how much he wanted to save his brother Ace!”

“That’s right, we know how much he pushed himself to do it!” Ivankov’s… followers echoed.

“But that brother died right in front of his eyes in order to protect him… There’s no justice in this world! It’s not surprising he broke down!” The revolutionary closed his eyes as if feeling Luffy’s pain.

Law had seen Fire Fist-ya’s corpse on the battlefield, but of course, he hadn’t known the circumstances of his death. To have the man he considered his brother die in his arms in order to protect him… Law flinched inwardly. He knew best how devastating that experience was, and wouldn’t wish that on anybody. For him, it had been 11 years, and the nightmares had chased him for the entirety of that period of time.

“Damn it all! Give it your best, Straw Hat!”

“You got to live, Straw Hat!” A string of encouragements came from the New Kamas.

“What a tragedy! I wish I could take his place!” Boa Hancock exclaimed, tears in her eyes. She hid her face in her hands. “Poor Luffy!” Sobbing, she turned away from them.

“Ah, I’m jealous…” Shachi said, watching her.

“It must be nice to have the Pirate Empress care about you that much…” Penguin agreed, both of them wearing the same stupid enamored expression. Shachi nodded.

And Law’s suspicions were confirmed… it seemed like the Shichibukai was in love with Straw Hat. Incredible, that a man-hater like her would ever fall in love with anybody… but the proof was right there on front of him. How was it that everyone that Luffy encountered automatically came to care for him? What was it about him?

“By the way, are you a friend of Straw Boy’s?” The revolutionary asked, eyeing him.

“No, I didn’t have to save him at all.” He answered, honestly. They weren’t friends. But was that explanation enough? “If you’re wondering about my motivation, I can come up with a reason.” He probably could, too. But the truth was that he would be lying, because he simply didn’t have one. He had seen the broadcast from Sabaody, calculated that he would be able to make it to Marineford in a few hours, and seen that Straw-Hat-ya was having a hard time and that the world was turning on its axis. And before he knew it, he’d given the order to sail out and was aboard his ship heading to the site of the battle.

“No, that’s okay. Sometimes, instinct moves your body on its own volition.” The surgeon thought it over. Instinct, huh? So his instinct had told him to head right into the middle of the greatest war in the last two decades and risk his entire crew’s life to rescue a single boy… He really hoped his instinct didn’t decide to make reckless actions of that caliber a habit.

“Hey, wait!”

“You can’t walk around yet!” Voices came from behind them, drawing their attention and snapping Hancock out of her grief.

“Don’t push yourself like that!”

“You need to rest!”

“The wound could open up!”

“Where are you going?”

Amongst the complaints of Law’s men, the First Son of the Sea, visibly exhausted, stumbled onto the deck.

“Jinbe!” Ivankov called out, surprised.

Law was taken aback to see him awake, since it had only been hours since the end of the war and the wound was severe. However, he guessed that you had to be that kind of monster to survive an event like the one the world had just witnessed.

“You’re Trafalgar Law from the North Blue, aren’t you?” The fishman asked him.

“Uh-huh.” He nodded.

“Hey, is it okay for you to move around like that?” Ivankov asked him, concerned.

“Thank you!” The blue man focused on the doctor. “You saved my life.”

He didn’t consider his job done until his patient’s life was out of danger. “You must rest. It could kill you.”

The wounded pirate shook his head. “I can’t ease my mind. It’s impossible! What I have just lost was too important to me! That is why I know that Luffy-kun must be going through far worse! At least, his instinct to protect himself forced him to lose consciousness in that moment. Even if he survives, I can’t stop worrying about the moment he wakes up!” Tears filled his eyes at the mere thought of it. Law didn’t know that the Shichibukai was such a compassionate man. It might explain, though, why he had not been able to keep his position, having to listen to the immoral requests of the Navy.

Ivankov and Boa stared in shock, processing and recognizing Jinbe’s very legitimate concerns. A person’s state of mind was crucial when it came to recovery. If Straw Hat lost his will to live because of his brother’s death, his wounds would definitely not heal.

Still, that two Shichibukai and one high member of the Revolutionaries cared this much about him… it said enough about the man. Like the fact that he deserved much better than everything that had happened to him in the last few days.

The Pirate Empress seemed to come to a decision. “Fuzzy Beast, do you have a Den Den Mushi?”

Beppo startled, turned around. “Yeah- I mean, yes, ma’am! I’m sorry!” He looked like he was about to salute. Or throw up, or both at the same time.  
The two girl-crazed idiots in the back stared in awe.

“I’m so jealous… He’s like her servant.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

“I’m going to call the Kuja’s ship so we can go across the Calm Belt even with this submarine. If the Government finds out that Luffy’s alive, they’ll come after him for sure! Let us harbor him at Maiden Island!”

Jinbe grunted in surprise, and Ivankov exclaimed in disbelief. Law barely managed to keep his own shock in check. Maiden Island, that had a centuiies-old tradition of denying all access to men and was inhabited by fierce female warriors, and its empress was willing to let them step foot on it? Just how important was Luffy to the Shichibukai? If he had had any remaining doubt about the female pirate’s feeling for Straw Hat, it was now gone. His charisma really was on a whole other level, being able to make allies out of even the most unlikely candidates.

Was he, himself, not one of them as well? Had he not, too, risked his like to save his, just because he liked his guts after meeting him once?

“If they still see me as a Shichibukai, Luffy can rest at ease!” She looked in the direction of the door, a pained look in her eyes. “Luffy…” she whispered to herself.

Law turned away. He had no desire to see any of it. He headed inside the submarine to watch over his patient until the ship arrived.

 

ᴥ ᴥ ᴥ

 

As the female pirate crew arrived, greeting their captain, Ivankov and his peculiar friends decided to leave. The revolutionary asked Jinbe to watch over Straw-Hat, which he agreed to do.

“I don’t know how I can help him, though.” His eyes were downcast, as were the Empress’s, despite her being surrounded by her sisters and crew members. Law looked on as each of them bore Luffy’s burden as if it were their own, pensive.

“It was a curious twist of fate that I got to meet you, was it not?” Ivankov asked the pirate.

“I agree. Although both of us were locked up in the greatest prison in the world, we would never have gotten to meet if it weren’t for Luffy-kun.”

“We both tried really hard to keep up with Straw Boy at Marineford, didn’t we? It’s hard for me to say goodbye, but I have my sweet candies waiting for me in my kingdom.”

What the hell were even "candies"? Law had a feeling he did most definitely not want to know.

“Please, take good care of Straw-Boy!” Ivankov asked, crying.

Jinbe nodded silently. The peculiar crew left shouting their thanks for Luffy for getting them out of Impel Down, and wishes for his recovery.

When the noisiest bunch of them were gone, the Heart and the Kuja pirates set sail for Maiden Island at Hancock’s command.

 

ᴥ ᴥ ᴥ

 

Their arrival at Amazon Lily was a noisy affair. The female inhabitants had gathered at the port, waiting anxiously to greet their princess. Law’s crew was on the deck in its entirety, blushing and wanting to feast their eyes on the famed beautiful warriors. They welcomed their ruler with shouts and cries, clearly smitten with her. The empress seemed to be very popular, even within her own territory. The women so distracted that it took them a while to realize that they had visitors, and not the welcome kind. Law saw them drawing their bows, and figured that he should at least warn the air-heads drooling over the scantily-clad warriors that their life was in danger.

“Hey, you guys.” Thankfully, they were not distracted enough to ignore their captain. “You have to go back in, otherwise you’ll die.” At the same time, he dodged an arrow that burrowed itself into the spot where his head had been mere moments ago. Terrified, his men looked up to see a barrage of arrows about to pierce them, but they were shredded in the air before they could hit their target.

“People, stop! They’re not our enemy!”

“Snake Princess!”

“Luffy is in that ship! He suffered greatly, both physically and mentally, during the battle of Marineford and is on the line between life and death at this very moment.” The female pirate captain explained, concern plain on her face, which immediately showed itself on her people, too.

“Luffy’s here?”

“Ladies, carry Luffy to the Kuja Castle as soon as possible! I’m going to look after him-“ Hancock’s delusions, apparently satisfying enough to make her blush, were promptly interrupted by a shrill voice that rang out across the port.

“Wait a minute, Snake Princess!” The interlocutor was a small elder lady with abnormally large lips.

“Granny Nyon!”

Unperturbed, said woman carried on. “It’s fine if it’s just Luffy, but we can’t allow the men on that strange ship to step foot onto Maiden Island. It’s against our country’s policy!” Well, Law could have guessed that it wouldn’t be that easy. After all, males were absolutely forbidden in the country, no matter the reason. It was already a miracle that Luffy seemed so welcome. There had to be more to the story than the glaringly obvious feelings of the Pirate Empress. While the Heart captain was fairly curious, he didn’t allow himself to dwell on the thought, since he had a way bigger problem on his hands. How was he supposed to treat Luffy if they wouldn’t let him on land?

“Then, just allow the doctor to come with him so-“ Hancock began, only to be cut off again.

“No! We can’t allow any men on the island, even if he is a doctor! We have so many good doctors on this island!” The elder insisted.

Law was growing tired of this old hag stuck in the past. He had a patient on his ship that needed rest as well as constant expert supervision and treatment. If they weren’t going to make those available to Luffy in this country, he would have to sail to another one. However, Law had to play his cards smartly.

“Well, I don’t care either way, but… do you have the same medical equipment and technology as my ship?” He asked, face serious. The old hag’s face tensed, knowing that the answer to that question was no as well as Law did. He pressed on. “If his wound opens up, he’s going to die.” When he saw the female captain gasp, the doctor knew he was close to winning the argument. “Take Straw Hat-ya if you don’t care about it.” He smirked, knowing that Hancock would never allow it.

True to his expectations, the woman put her hands on her head in despair. “Luffy’s going to die?!” She looked like she would have a breakdown at the mere thought of it. “If that happens by any chance… Oh, I’m going to… I’m going to…” She was shaking at this point.

Jinbe, who had been sitting on the deck quietly up to this point, stood up to intervene in Law’s favor. “It’s obvious that we can’t save Luffy-kun without this man. If he can’t come in, we have no choice. We must go somewhere else.”

“That’s impossible! We would be attacked by Sea Kings!” The empress exclaimed. And she was right. Sea Kings were dangerous at their best, but in the Calm Belt, they were bloodthirsty beasts. They had no energy to spare on fighting them, since they had to focus on saving Luffy’s life.

“And even if we get away from them, the Navy could find us at any time!” This was true, too. They weren’t going to let them go without resistance, either. As if the incident at Enies Lobby hadn’t been enough, Straw Hat had become even more notorious after the war, since he had been revealed to be Dragon’s son and Fire Fist’s brother. The Marines were going to want to get rid of him for sure. But, since the captain of the Kuja pirates had set the condition that the Navy was not to come within three kilometers of her island in exchange of her services as a Shichibukai, they would find no better place to be safe than Amazon Lily.

“What should we do?” Hancock despaired.

Finally, the grandma sighed, giving in. “Oh, well… We’ll only do it as an exception, but… you can stay in the area of the bay. The Sea Kings won’t attack you there.” No matter how he had hoped for it, Law was still surprised at this development. It had to be a miracle, for the Kuja to finally open their doors to men, and in order to save another man, too.

Relieved of the heavy weight of the possibility of Luffy not getting the treatment he needed, Boa was all smiles again. “Then, I’ll stay with them to look after Luffy-“

“No!”

Apparently, the princess had also had enough of the old hag. “Damn, Granny Nyon! You keep saying ‘no’ to me!”

Sailing behind the Kuja Pirates in the direction of the bay, the submarine glided across the river. The women in the port saw them off, encouraging Luffy.

“Luffy! I hope you get better soon!”

Law was going to make damn sure he would. He was a doctor, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to fix the spacing this time, since AO3 keeps messing it up. I'll try to do it on the chapters, too.  
> I hope you liked it!
> 
> See you next time! It will be a lot of my own stuff since I want to write abut the two weeks when Luffy was in a comma. Look forward to it!


	5. Five: What You Went Through

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear to God, my chapters just keep getting longer.

After being led to the bay by the Kuja pirate ship, the Heart pirates set up camp with Jinbe’s and some of the female warrior’s help. A folding screen of sorts had been set up around the area designated for them, meant as a deterrent and a reminder of their position on the island, since it was not an actual effective barrier. Nevertheless, Law’s crew complained, some of them even breaking down in tears, at the thought of being on Maiden Island, every man’s dream, but being unable to actually enjoy female company. The doctor was too tired to reprimand them for their endless stupidity. He watched as they tried to peek underneath the cloth, only to have their hands stepped upon by one of the women on the other side. Idiots, the lot of them.

Hancock was still lingering, clearly worried, while giving orders to her crew. “Anchor the boat next to their submarine, build the tents, prepare food-“

Her instructions were cut short. “No!” The old hag intervened once again, firm. “You cannot stay with them! What example would it set for the islanders? All of them wish to watch over Luffy as well. If they came to know that you were doing so, there would be no stopping them!”

“Damn you, old hag. You can’t order me around, I’m the princess!”

“No means no!”

It was ridiculous. He needed to step in. “Excuse me, but as his doctor, allow me to interrupt. He needs absolute rest. His wounds are by no means healed, or his life out of danger. He needs quiet, so the less people staying in his vicinity, the better.”

“See now, Snake Princess? Please listen to him!”

“No! I shall watch over him myself!” Hancock stubbornly insisted.

Annoyed at this point, Law’s voice grew harsh. “While I’m well aware that Straw Hat-ya owes his life to you for providing him with shelter, it is my professional duty to ensure that he recovers, and as a medical practitioner, I’m telling you that your presence would probably interfere with my purpose. Are you insinuating that fulfilling your needs is of bigger priority than my patient’s health and safety?” He asked, driving his point home. He needed her gone.

“Luffy’s safety? Oh, no!” Clearly torn, the Shichibukai worried her lower lip, causing a few of the Heart crew to blush. The captain himself, however, was impervious to it, staring her down and willing her to leave them to their own devices.

Helpful for once, the elder butted in. “Snake Princess, Luffy’s recovery is more important, after all. This man clearly knows what he’s doing. We can leave him in his hands. Meanwhile, you should go to the palace and get some rest. I’m sure the war took its toll on you as well. We can then prepare for Luffy’s recovery and throw a banquet in his honor when he recovers.”

“Yes… yes, you’re right, Grandma Nyon. I’ll prepare food for Luffy, he’ll surely have an enormous appetite when he gets well…” Not even taking her leave, she walked away muttering to herself, the old woman hot on her heels.

Releasing a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding, Law refused to analyze the way the feeling of discomfort in his chest settled after the woman’s departure. Unable to sit still, he decided to head back inside the ship to check up on Luffy and make sure his vitals were in order.

When he entered the operating theater, the steady beeping of the machine and the loud sound of the breathing through the oxygen mask greeted him. The familiarity of it all made him relax almost instantaneously, and he effortlessly slid into his professional persona, where any body in front of him was like a machine that needed to be fixed, or a puzzle to be solved. Checking him over, he determined that there wasn’t any change: Straw Hat remained unconscious, and it didn’t look like he’d be waking up for some time. Law wondered if it was a good or a bad thing. While, of course, regaining consciousness would mean that his health was improving, the mental shock of Marineford would hit him and take its toll on him. He was sure that Luffy was not weak, physically or mentally, but that didn’t mean anything: a person he loved enough to give up his live for had died, and that was enough to drive any man insane.

Looking at the boy in front of him and his beaten body, he remembered Cora-san, and how he’d laid in the snow, tinging it red, blood trickling out of his wounds. He saw his child self, sobbing and murmuring silly incantations to heal him, calling upon the power of the Ope-Ope Fruit. He felt the despair chocking him and the slowing heartbeat beneath his fingertips.

Almost hyperventilating, the doctor forcefully returned to the present. It was different now. No matter how much he wished he had had the medical knowledge and the dominion over his powers back then, it was useless. He wasn’t able to change the past, but he could very well shape the future: he could kill Doflamingo, and he could save the life in front of him. This time, for sure.

His job done, he resolved to go out again, when his gaze fell upon the straw hat hanging on the transfusion pole. Who had even put it there? He took it down and weighed it in his hand, transfixed.

Somehow, it had survived the war in which many had perished, and had even found its way back to its owner. How extraordinary.

He walked back to the deck and made landfall again, asking Clione to get him something to eat. Only when Uni pointed it out did he realize that he had taken the hat with him. Shrugging off the inquiring looks, he devoured his food. However, he could not bring himself to return it to the submarine.

 

ᴥ ᴥ ᴥ

 

Several days had passed, and there had been no changes in Straw Hat’s condition. He could see the concern in Beppo and Jean-Bart’s faces, the devastation in Jinbe’s, and the worry in the female warriors' that brought them their food, as sure as they could see the dark circles under his eyes. All of them asked him about the patient’s condition multiple times a day, and each time, he had no news to speak of, whether they be bad or good. He just remained… still, immobile. It looked unnatural to him, who hadn’t even known Luffy for that long. He was sure to Jinbe, who had spent a fair amount of time with him, it was frightening. It was easy to see that the Straw Hat captain was an energetic person, just oozing life and restlessness wherever he went. He had determined that in Sabaody.

The way he looked at the moment… it was unsettling, even if it was normal, considering the damage he had taken.

“You gotta shape up, Straw Hat-ya.” He said, as he checked on him in the morning. No reaction.

Law spent the day lazing around beneath the shadow of a tree, answering the female warriors’ questions under the glares of the more conservative ones, who despised any and all contact with men, and playing with the straw hat. It had been his constant companion since he had first taken it and remained by his side ever since.  For some reason it calmed him down, looking at it and holding it in his hands.

He was watching his crew discuss the best methods to infiltrate the village and avoid death (without any success) when he decided to check up on Luffy once more. Pushing himself away from Beppo’s furry body, which he had been resting on, he stood up and boarded his submarine.  

He was about to go into the room Luffy was resting in when he heard sobs coming from inside. Pausing, he peeked inside to see Jinbe, hunched over the boy.

“I’m so sorry, Luffy-kun. I’m so, so sorry. In Impel Down, I promised you that if you set me free, I would help you, and even gladly lay down my life in order to save your brother’s, but… here I am, and Ace-san and Whitebeard are dead, and you are the most wounded of all… In the end, I didn’t help you at all… You fought and stalled Magellan in prison, faced the three admirals in Marineford, and I… I didn’t do anything at all. I’m so sorry, Luffy-kun. Please forgive me.”

Law pulled a face. Oh, God. It was uncomfortable. He had heard something not meant for his ears, what was meant to be a heartfelt apology for the Straw Hat captain only. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel curious. He had only seen what the Den Den Mushi had shown in Sabaody. He didn’t know about Impel Down, or about their journey from there to Marineford, or about what had happened after the broadcast had been cut off and he had boarded his ship. He wanted to know.

But, of course, he understood that now was not the time. He walked away quietly, the sounds of the fishman’s weeping chasing him down the hallway.

 

ᴥ ᴥ ᴥ

 

Night fell, as it did every day, after the villagers delivered their dinner. Law’s crew had gone to sleep, some choosing to head for the cabin inside the submarine, while other had passed out on the grass.

The captain himself found that he couldn’t sleep, and sat next to the fire, poking it with a stick. Balanced on his knee was the straw hat.

Jinbe hadn’t come out of the operating theatre for the whole day. He hadn’t eaten, either. Law hadn’t approached the room again, figuring that whatever the Shichibukai wanted to tell Luffy, he wanted to tell alone. He respected that. However, that meant that Law hadn’t checked on his patient in several hours, and it made him nervous for some unknown reason. Of course, if there was a problem, the doctor was sure that Straw Hat-ya’s friend would have sought him out and notified him immediately. Still. Law knew that it was completely irrational, and yet he could not ease his mind.  Unconsciously, his hand reached out to touch the hat. For another unknown reason, the fry and rough material under his fingertips calmed him.

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice the fishman approaching until he sat next to the fire, a few meters away from him.

Law immediately offered him some of the food he had wrestled out of his subordinate’s hands in order to set it aside for the Shichibukai. “Here you go. You must be hungry.”

The big man took it gratefully. “Thank you.” He started to eat, composed.

Studying his face, the doctor saw no trace of tears. He stood, taking the straw hat in one hand. “I’m going to check on Straw Hat-ya. It won’t take long.”

“Thank you.” Jinbe, said again, looking at him. Law nodded once before heading to see Luffy. Determining that nothing was wrong, he sighed in relief. Thankfully, his crew members had taken care of the smaller thing like hooking him up with more blood and antibiotics, or exchanging the oxygen tank.

He headed back outside again and occupied the same seat as earlier. Jinbe was still there, finishing up his meal. The fishman’s eyes were drawn to his right hand, holding Luffy’s straw hat, that moved to set it beside him.

“Jinbe-ya, can I ask you a question?”

The man in question swallowed the food in his mouth. “Of course. I owe you a great debt.” He answered, looking at the Heart captain.

“Can you tell me what exactly happened in Impel Down and Marineford? I’m afraid I know little of the latter, and nothing of the former. Straw Hat-ya’s body… the damage that had been dealt to it is severe. It’s a miracle he’s alive. I would like to know what exactly he went through up until the moment we appeared.”

The First Son of the Sea sighed. He looked at the fire for a few moments, then looked at Law. “It’s a rather long story. Do you have all night?”

“Yes.” The doctor reached for the hat and twirled in his hand, readying himself to listen to the story.

And Jinbe began to tell him what had transpired in the impenetrable fortress of Impel Down. Since the Shichibukai hadn’t met him until Ivankov and Luffy had reached Level 6, he retold what Luffy and Ivankov had told him on their way to Marineford.

And so, Law listened to the trials of the smaller captain. Of how he had snuck onto the Navy ship with the help of Boa Hancock and infiltrated the prison. Of how he had met Buggy on Level 1, and teamed up with him and descended further down the levels, freeing prisoners and starting riots in the process and allying himself with Mr.3 and Bon Kurei, confronting a number of guards and Jailer Beasts, before making it to Level 4 and finally facing Magellan and his powers. The blue-skinned man went on to explain how Straw Hat had been defeated and completely drenched in the warden’s poison that would kill him in 24 hours, and then had been thrown into a cell in Level 5, only to be freed by Bon Kurei. They had then headed together into the freezing woods, having heard that Ivankov had vanished into them, and resisted an attack from a pack of wolves, passing out in the process, but luckily being saved by Inazuma, a revolutionary.

Jinbe’s face contorted, and he took a deep breath before continuing. “They were taken to Ivankov’s hideout inside the prison, called Newkama Land. It seems that Luffy-kun briefly recovered consciousness, and, while drenched in poison, asked Ivankov to save Bon Kurei, which made him save them both. However, the treatment for Luffy-kun was extremely harsh: Ivankov told me that he had expected him to lose 10 years of his life and only wake up in 3 days.  However, through his own sheer determination to save Ace-san, his little brother woke up in less than a day, after screaming his head off for most of it. And, right after waking up, when Luffy-kun was about to head out to save his brother again, he collapsed and had to be injected with Tension Hormones. Ivankov tried to explain it to me, but what I got is that while it allows the one injected to ignore their fatigue, it is only effective for a few hours, and the effects kick in afterwards, causing incredible pain. Nevertheless, Luffy still agreed to do it, and continued with Ivankov and Inazuma to Level 6. That’s when they found me.” The fishman closed his eyes. “They just barely missed Ace-san, who had been taken up about half an hour before.”

Law was speechless. To think that Straw Hat-ya had been so close to saving Fire Fist-ya, and while recovering from a severe poisoning… what an incredible force he was.

“He freed Crocodile and myself, and then all of us fought our way up to Level 4, and met Blackbeard.” His voice grew somber. Law waited patiently. “He… told Luffy-kun that, originally, his purpose had been catching and delivering him to the World Government. Ace-san, however, found out and and fought with him, losing and being captured himself. He told Luffy-kun that he was lucky.” Jinbe swallowed.

The doctor flinched inwardly. It struck too close to home, the older brother figure sacrificing himself for the younger brother. It stirred up things he would rather remain untouched.

The former Shichibukai continued, explaining how Luffy had fought Magellan again with a wax armor, how he himself had managed to secure a Navy ship before they could all leave with the help of Crocodile, Daz Bones and Buggy, and how Luffy had emerged with Magellan on his heels. He then told him that he had called whale sharks to Impel Down, and that they had carried the inmates to the ship.

“But how were you able to open the Gates of Justice?” Law asked. It was impossible to access or leave the Tarai Current without one of the three Gates of Justice being open, and they, in turn could only be opened form Enies Lobby, Marineford and Impel Down respectively.

“It was thanks to Bon Kurei. He stayed behind in order to allow Luffy-kun to go and save Ace-san. He told me his plan beforehand and asked me not to tell Luffy until we were past the gates.” Jinbe looked down. “Such a brave man, such a good friend.”

There it was, again, Straw Hat’s uncanny ability to inspire loyalty in every person he encountered, to make an ally out of every foe he had faced. It was terrible, really.

“Anyway, the Marineford gates somehow opened on their own, and we were swept away by a tsunami and frozen on its crown by Whitebeard’s and Aokiji’s powers. We originally wanted to slide down the wave and sail around, but we heard an order that Ace was to be executed prematurely, and hurried, knocking the ship forward instead by mistake and falling from the sky to Marineford bay. Which I’m guessing you saw, since the broadcast started earlier than that.” The fishman looked at the doctor.

“Yes, I did see that.” Law smiled. “I was wondering how you had done that. What a dramatic entrance it was.”

Jinbe laughed. “That it was, for sure. We were lucky to fall into a spot that wasn’t frozen, too.” He sighed. “I guess that, from there on, you know most of it, including Ace-san being Gol D. Roger’s son and Luffy-kun Monkey D. Dragon’s son and Monkey D. Garp’s grandson, and the two of them being brothers, as well.”

The Heart captain nodded. “Yes, that part was broadcast. But still, I was really surprised… What a family!”

“Indeed. But I wouldn’t expect any less from Luffy-kun! When exactly was the video feed cut off, then?”

“When the Pacifistas arrived.”

Jinbe looked at him, surprised. “You… knew about the Pacifistas?”

“I fought one in Sabaody while trying to get away from the Navy. At first, I thought it was Bartholomew Kuma himself, but, after defeating him, I wondered about him being so weak for a Shichibukai, and found information stating that the actual person was a Devil Fruit Eater. Moreover, there were rumors of the Navy developing human weapons….”

“You sure stay informed.” The fishman looked at him, his eyes unreadable.

Law smirked. “I do my best. Well, what happened after the Pacifistas arrived, then?”

“The war continued, and well, it was… overwhelming. Luffy-kun was defeated by Aokiji and Kizaru and collapsed from all his wounds during Impel Down and the first half of the battle. But… he asked for another shot of Tension Hormones.”

“No.” Law said without realizing.

The fishman pursed his lips. “Yes. He was injected once more and headed into the fray once again, only to watch as the executioners raised their weapons and were about to kill Ace. But then- “Abruptly, he stopped talking, the strangest look passing over his face. “All of them were taken out.”

“What do you mean, all of them?”

“I mean the executioners, the Marines, the pirates… they started dropping like flies.”

That… sounded very familiar. But it wasn’t possible, was it? But… it was Monkey D. Luffy.

The Shichibukai continued telling his story before the doctor’s thoughts went astray, He filed the information away and listened. “Then, under Whitebeard’s command, all his men started backing Luffy up, making a path to the base of the scaffold. Inazuma used his powers to make a bridge that led right to Ace, but… Vice Admiral Garp blocked his way.”

“That’s… his grandfather, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is…” His voice grew quieter. “He punched him. He had to. The bridge was collapsing, and it was the only way to get to Ace. So, he punched his grandfather.”

Law grimaced. The poor boy hadn’t gotten a break at all, had he?

“But well, he made it to the execution platform, and somehow had the key to Ace-san’s cuffs with him, but it was shattered by Kizaru. At the same time, Sengoku started using his powers, turning into a very big golden Buddha. But then, Mr. 3 from Baroque Works, who had been disguised as one of the executioners, revealed himself, and Luffy told him to shield Ace-san with his wax as he parried Sengoku’s punch, but the impact made the scaffold collapse. While they were falling, Mr. 3 made a key out of wax for the Seam Prism handcuffs, and gave it to Luffy just as the Navy soldiers opened fire on them.”

Law was confused. All of what Jinbe was telling him sounded like some really messed up dream, with so many things going on at once. But still, to get the fleet admiral to fight… that was no joking matter.

“And, just as all of us were thinking they’d died… A tunnel of fire appeared, and out of it, the three of them emerged- “

“Wait, you’re saying that Straw Hat-ya actually managed to free his brother?” The doctor thought he hadn’t heard well.

“Yes.” Jinbe smiled. “He did.”

That was… incredible, to put it mildly. After all his trials and Impel Down and multiple face-offs with the most powerful individuals enlisted in the Navy, and all of that with a wrecked body… and he had managed to uncuff his brother?

It was an almost superhuman feat.

“Wait, but… if Fire Fist-ya was freed, then how come…? He sure could have gotten them both to safety.”

Jinbe’s face contorted in pain. And then, he talked, his voice just a whisper. He told him about how Whitebeard had given his final order, about how he wanted all his sons to get back to the New World safely. About the way all of them, including Luffy and Ace, obeyed, making their escape. And then, about the words that had made Fire Fist stop and turn around. About how Luffy had headed back, ready to back his brother up, but his body had finally shown the effects of the abuse it had been put through.

“The blow was meant for Luffy-kun.” The blue-skinned man stared at the horizon. “At this point, there are so many ‘what if’s’. What if Luffy-kun had directly gone to Marineford, instead of going to Impel Down first? Would he have had the strength to dodge that blow? What if Ace-san had not reacted to the provocation? Could the two brothers have gotten away safely? What if Squard-san had not stabbed Whitebeard? Could all of them had been safe and sound now, celebrating their second commander’s rescue with a banquet?”

Once again, all of it hit too close to home. Law knew that feeling so well. What if he had studied just a bit more medicine before meeting Cora-san? Would he have been able to use the Ope-Ope powers immediately, healing him? What if he had given the letter to any other Marine soldier but Vergo? What if he hadn’t hidden form the first group of them, who were not secret agents for Doflamingo? Would Cora-san still be alive today? Would he be sitting next to him, right this very moment, setting his clothes on fire by mistake again?

“I got there too late. I could only intercept the second blow.”

“Well, that saved Straw Hat-ya’s life, didn’t it?” Awkwardly, the human man tried to comfort him. He wasn’t very good at it, but at least, the Shichibukai acknowledged his efforts with a small smile.

“Well, after that, Ace-san died in Luffy-kun’s arms, and that’s when he collapsed. Thanks to the Marco and Whitebeard, I was able to get away from Akainu with him. Crocodile, Buggy and the Whitebeard commanders assisted us further when the admiral got me. And that’s when you appeared.”

“How could Blackbeard obtain Whitebeard’s powers?”

“No one knows. He went under a black cloth with his corpse, and when he came out… He had them.”

Law frowned. “He seems dangerous.”

“I’m sure he is, and will become more so. The world should keep an eye out for him.”

The Heart captain looked at the sea, which was turning red with the rising sun. “I know another one of those.”  His eyes wandered to the submarine, and his thoughts, to the unconscious captain inside it.

Jinbe followed Law’s gaze. “So do I.”

Both of them fell silent, after a night of talking, and watched the sunrise together, hoping that, maybe, Luffy would be able to watch the next one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, then, I hope you enjoyed. By the way, I fixed all the spacing! :)


	6. Six: Suck It Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this on took longer than usual... I just didn't know how to end it, but I've got it now, kind of.  
> Enjoy!

Before they knew it, two weeks had passed, with no change at all. Law gave Straw Hat a check-up several times a day, and while his body was recovering slowly but steadily, he showed no signs of waking up. Thankfully, they had had no unwanted visitors (meaning Hancock) or been found by the Navy, so the days they spent on Amazon Lily would have been relaxed and enjoyable if not for the weigh on their minds that was Luffy’s condition.

The inhabitants of Maiden Island felt it, too. Each of the women who had brought them food had inquired about the rubber man’s health.

Just then, one of them approached him, and he recognized her as one of the ones who asked most often. She had short blond hair and a green snake on her shoulders. “Excuse me?”

Law set down his beer. “Huh?”

“Is Luffy awake?” she asked. The doctor shook his head. “I see.”

Seeing her so crestfallen, he felt like he had to give her something more. “It’s up to Straw-Hat-ya’s spirit. Whether he’s willing to live or not.” He met her eyes.

She cast her eyes to the ground, thinking over his statement, before being called by another warrior. Answering that she was coming, she turned to him once more and bowed her head. “I’m sorry. Please take good care of Luffy!”

As she rejoined her companions, one of them scolded her about interacting with him. The Heart captain’s eyes followed her as she vanished into the forest. She seemed to care about Straw Hat a lot.

Law snorted inwardly. What a heart-breaker.

 

ᴥ ᴥ ᴥ

 

He was still sitting beneath the tree he had been beneath earlier, and nursing the same drink, which had become hot and disgusting over the past few hours. Lukewarm beer was gross.

He was just debating whether to just dump it on the grass or get one of his subordinates to take care of it when an earth-shattering scream came from the submarine, followed by the sound of an explosion as the ship rocked violently. Law’s eyes widened, and he discarded the bottle in his hand without a second thought and ran to the edge of the shore, arriving at the same time as Jinbe, who had reacted just as fast.

Suddenly, the top of the Polar Tang burst into pieces and a bandaged body flew a few meters into the air, then falling behind both of them. The doctor and the Shichibukai gasped, shaken. The Heart captain had expected the realization to sink in slowly, and for Straw Hat to grieve, but… this was much worse.

“Luffy-kun!” The fishman called him. But he didn’t respond, rising to his hands and knees. Digging his fingers into the dirt, he stared at the ground, unseeing.

“Ace…” He formed a fist, panting heavily. “Ace…” He took a deep breath. “Where is Ace?!” he shouted suddenly, his crazed eyes turned upwards. His voice shook in agony.

Law swallowed audibly. _God, no._

Straw Hat started raging across the campsite, destroying everything in his path and throwing it into the ocean. Even the Heart pirates, trying to stop him, were not spared.

“This is dangerous! Calm down, Straw Hat!”

Jinbe had been watching, but now turned to Law. “What is going to happen if we leave him like that?” He asked him. Maybe, he hoped that he could let Luffy run until he was tired and had worked off the grief. However, Law had to shatter his hopes. It wasn’t possible in the smaller captain’s present condition.

“Well, it’s simple. Like I said when we got here, if his wounds open up, he’ll die.” Jinbe’s eyes narrowed in response to Law’s explanation.

At the same time, Straw Hat-ya tripped and fell. “Yes, now is the chance!” Intending to make use of the opportunity, the crew members threw themselves onto him, trying to pin him down and immobilize him.

“Let me go, dammit!”

“Stay still, Straw Hat!”

“Shut up, I’m looking for Ace!”

“I told you that Fire Fist is…” Law’s subordinate was interrupted by Luffy’s outburst.

“I said to let me go!” He threw off all the men on top of him with his incredible strength and continued shouting. “Where is Ace?! Ace!”

“Damn, he’s out of control.”

Realizing that he wasn’t going to find Fire Fist-ya anywhere on the campsite, Luffy screamed and headed to the forest.

“Stop, Straw Hat! Stop!” A number of the Heart pirates attempted to follow him, but were unable to catch him. Out of breath, most of them bent over.

“Ace! Where are you, Ace?!” The small captain had already disappeared amongst the foliage.

Now recovered, the crew members were about to go after him when they were stopped by Jinbe rising to his feet.

“I will go.”

The human man looked at him. What was he planning to do? The determined look in his eyes meant that he definitely knew what to do, so he nodded. The Heart captain was decidedly shit when it came to things like emotions, so if Jinbe wanted to deal with it, he was more than welcome to. Law would rather stay at the bay and do anything but face Luffy and his grief.

The Heart pirates made way for him, almost like one would make way for a king. But the way the fishman carried himself, so dignified, was almost reminiscent of one. He disappeared into the forest, leaving the crew staring after him.

And then, the screams started. Not like before, not angry, no inquiries about Ace’s whereabouts, no calls to his brother. No, this is completely different. They weren’t words, more like howls, sounds you’d expect to hear from a wounded beast. They were the manifestation of pain, piercing through your skin and bones, shattering your skull, ripping out your heart. Because Law knew. He knew better than anyone else, how it felt to not be enough to save him, how it felt when it sunk in that he really was gone, that he wouldn’t ever see his stupid smile again, or feel his hand ruffling his hair, or feel him tucking him in once more before he settled down beside him. God, he knew, because no matter how he tried to forget, he’d always remember.

The screams coming from the forest? He knew them best, because 11 years ago, he’d also sounded exactly like that. He’d also come to the same realization that Straw Hat had: that no matter how he tried, no matter how many he killed in retaliation, no matter how many years passed, he’d never be able to see his elder brother’s face again.

It was too much. Law wanted to get away, as far and fast as he could, but the straw hat beside him stopped him. Why? Why couldn’t he just run away from it all?

Since the situation had calmed down, his crew now set about to fix the ship.

“Hey pass me the wrench, will you?”

“Sure, here you go.”

“Hey, do you think you can fix the ship?” one of the crew members on land asked their shipwright.

“Yeah, I’ll manage.” He answered. “That aside, where did Straw Hat go? Jinbe is gone, too.” He had been inside the ship still, along with some of the others, so he probably hadn’t seen the ordeal.

“I don’t know.”

Meanwhile, Beppo, Shachi, Jean Bart and Penguin were staring at the hole Straw Hat-ya had torn in the folding screen on his way to the forest.

“Well, I heard that if a man enters the Maiden Island, he’ll be turned to stone, but maybe it’s worth dying for.”

“According to Aphelandra-chan, not all women were at the port.”

“The female-only island that I’ve dreamed of! I wish I could take a look inside!” Shachi sighed.

“You’re gonna die, you idiot.” Considering the face he was making and his dreamy voice, it didn’t look like Penguin would mind even if that was the case. On occasions like these, Law wondered if it really had been necessary to let these two incarnations of lust in its purest form on his ship.

“I wonder if there are female bears…” Beppo blushed and Law tried to forget it as soon as he saw. The bear was supposed to be a pillow and a sword-holder and a completely non-sexual presence. He most definitely did not want to know about any of his fantasies. He banished the image into the darkest recesses of his mind, never to see the light of day again.

Apparently, Shachi and Penguin had the thought the same to some extent, and since the navigator had shattered their fantasies, they turned on him. “It’s Maiden Island!”

“I’m sorry.” Immediately dejected, Beppo lowered his head.

However, the other two didn’t have any mercy on him. “Only humans! There are only humans!” Law contemplated telling them that that was highly unlikely, since they were next to a forest, but decided against it, sure that it would only draw out their argument.

“I’m really sorry.”

Staring at the straw hat he was now holding in his hand, Law sighed inwardly, once and then stood.

“I’m going for a walk.” He announced.

“Where?”

He glared at Penguin. “Well, obviously the forest, where else?”

“But we’re not allowed!”

“Surely you won’t tell, right?”

“The- Then,” Shachi was almost trembling in excitement. “Take us with you!”

“No. Anyone who enters this forest will have the pleasure of staying there as long as he needs to find all the pieces once I’m done with him.” His smile was dark. “Have I made myself clear?”

“Y-yes, captain!”

They let him go with no interruptions this time.

Before he knew it, he was already following the trail of felled trees, dug up dirt and blood. That wasn’t good at all. He needed to make sure his patient didn’t die, and that was why he was following him. He needed to heal him and nothing else.

In the distance, he heard the sound of another tree hitting the ground. It was ridiculous, that Straw Hat could still muster enough strength to cause this level of destruction. The toll it had to be taking on his body was enormous. Law needed to stop him. Jinbe may not be able to stop him on his own.

A sarcastic little voice inside him asked him if that was really the issue, asked if he wasn’t fully aware that the blue man was a Shichibukai and probably the strongest fishman of all, and the race was rumored to be ten times stronger than the average human. The captain told the little voice to go fuck itself, and marched on.

In that instant, the screams started once again, and the sounds of explosions rung through the air, leaving clouds of dust in their wake.

“Stop! Go away, go away!” In the distance, Law saw a gigantic rock fly through the air to hit another massive stone pillar, completely smashing it to bits. He started running in the direction of the commotion, making it in time to see Luffy on all fours, and Jinbe staring down at him. He decided to watch from behind a tree, hidden.

“The war is over.” He said, calmly. “Ace-san is…”

“Don’t say it! Don’t say anything!” Straw Hat interrupted him. “I’ve already pinched myself hard enough to rip my skin!” The red stains on his bandages were proof enough. “If it were a dream, I should’ve woken up by now!” He continued, his eyes dark. But then, his voice, that had been so loud just seconds ago, broke. “It’s not a dream, is it? Ace is really dead, isn’t he?” The tears were streaming down his face, and snot was dripping out of his nose. Jinbe gasped.

Law had never understood people who said that crying was pretty. All the misconceived notions in petty romance stories, describing the tears as raindrops that gracefully fell from eyelashes, the little hiccups, all of that was bullshit. This was what crying and heartbreak really looked like: ugly and messy and painful. This was what it meant to truly suffer.

Visibly forcing himself to say the words, the Shichibukai answered him. “Yes, he is dead!”

Sobs wracked his bandaged body, and he wailed, his head turned to the sky.

God, why had he even come? He couldn’t do this! He wasn’t cut out for this kind of thing! Even if both of them had gone through similar experiences, Law was certainly not going to be of any help. What could he tell him?

 _Yeah, sorry, but it doesn’t get easier. A decade later, you’ll still wake up crying after dreaming about him_. _A decade later, it'll still hurt, just as much as it does now._

He started heading back towards the camp, careful not to make any noise so as to not alert the other two pirates of his presence. There was nothing for him to do here. There was nothing he could say or do to make Luffy feel better, because even now, even after all these years… Law didn’t feel better in the slightest.

 

ᴥ ᴥ ᴥ

 

Back at the camp, more than half an hour passed until the screams finally ceased. For each and every second of them, Law had been sitting under the tree he’d come to claim as his own, his face hidden under the shadow of his hat and Luffy’s own hat clenched in his hand.

Only when it was over did he join Shachi and Penguin, who were fishing.

“He stopped screaming.” Shachi commented.

“Now that you mention it, I wonder were Straw Hat is. He’s going to die if his wounds open up, right?” Penguin asked.

Making a concerned little noise, Beppo looked towards the forest. Ticked off, Law glared at the idiot from the corner of his eye.

At that moment, a fish took the bait. “I got one, I got one!”

Suddenly, a breeze blew in their direction, making all of them start. Penguin looked to the sea, immobile for a few seconds.

“What’s wrong?” Shachi asked him.

Taking out his binoculars, his best friend continued staring at the horizon through them. “I think I just saw a fish…” He had not finished uttering those words when a massive Sea King leapt out of the water. “T-that’s big!”

The next time it emerged from the water, Law noticed that its eye was bleeding. Penguin was still a little bit behind. “Look, that’s a huge Sea King!”

“Is it fighting?” Shachi asked, fearful. And it seemed he was right. It would certainly explain the wounds and the incessant growling.

Then, the corpse of the Sea King floated up to the surface.  “It’s dead! It got killed!”

“But it’s huge!”

“I couldn’t see what did it?”

“It’s scary around here!” The crew seemed about to have a panic attack.

A human arm broke the surface of the water, holding a yellow piece of fabric. Law made a surprised noise. Who could it be?

As the man made his way on land, he recognized him, and is eyes widened in shock.

“A man?”

“Hey, who are you?!”

“Oh boy…” The concerned person said, not bothered at all.

The rest of the crew mates recognized him now, too, making the gasp out in surprise.

“D-D-Dark King Rayleigh?” Beppo exclaimed.

“Eh?!”

“Oh, it’s you guys. We met at Sabaody Archipelago.”

While his subordinates were still in awe, Law regarded him. What was he doing on Amazon Lily? How had he gotten there?

“Well, my ship sank in the storm so I had no choice but to swim.” 

“Storm?! The Calm Belt is always calm – it’s never rough! There shouldn’t be a storm!” Penguin said.

Shachi answered the implicit question. “That means his ship wrecked further away and he swam all the way here?!”

“I have a good breast stroke.” He remarked calmly, wringing out his shirt.

“That’s not the point!”

“Then, the Sea King just now… was fighting you?!”

“Only a legendary pirate could do that!” The Heart crew was thoroughly impressed, admiring the former first mate of the Pirate King.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Beppo apologized, for some unknown reason.

“What are you apologizing for?!” Penguin and Shachi asked him.

Now done drying his clothes. Rayleigh drew their attention once more. “Oh, yeah.”

Unwillingly, Law broke out in a sweat. This man wanted something. But what was it?

“I assume that Luffy-kun is on this island.”

The Heart captain’s eyes widened, and he reflexively tightened his hand around the straw hat in his grasp.

“Leave.” He told his crew.

“What?”

“I want to talk to him alone.”

They obeyed the order from their captain and retreated to the other end of the campsite, resuming their fishing.

“How did you know Straw Hat-ya is here?” He asked the older man.

“I was told by the one who sent him here.”

Law frowned. “What do you mean, the one who sent him here?”

Rayleigh smiled. “It takes about one week to get from Sabaody Archipelago to Maiden Island. And if you factor in that it takes four days to get from Amazon Lily to Impel Down on a Navy ship, and that he spent one day there, and was at Sabaody one week ago, doesn’t it not add up? The fact that he travelled from Sabaody to Amazon Lily, and then to Impel Down, all in less than a week? And why is his crew not with him? They sure don’t look like ones to abandon their captain, do they?”

The former first mate was right, the surgeon realized. He hadn’t even thought about it, but it was really strange. He had noticed when he had first met them that the Straw Hat crew was very close-knit group. It seemed strange that they would just let one of them head to the war alone, especially their captain. And it was true that, time-wise, Luffy’s travels made no sense at all.

Something must have happened to them at Sabaody, on the same day they had first met each other, too. Something that had split the crew up and enabled Luffy to travel such a great distance in such a short amount of time.

“What happened to them?” he asked the Dark King.

“Why do you want to know?” the man in question answered, regarding him.

And, upon being asked, he realized that this wasn’t the issue at all. More important than what had happened to Straw Hat was what was going to happen to him.

“What is your business with him?” Law’s eyes narrowed.

“Are you concerned about him?” Rayleigh asked.

The doctor gritted his teeth. “My patient is in no condition to fight anyone. I’ve busted my ass with his treatment, I’m not just going to let you through to him. I need to know what it is you want from him and if there’s any chance of the Navy finding out Straw Hat’s whereabouts the way that you did.”

“Oh.” The older man smiled. “If it’s about that, you don’t have to worry. The Marines won’t ever figure out that Luffy-kun is here.”

“Good, but my other question is still unanswered. Why have you come here?”

“Me?” the Dark King smirked. “I’m here to give it to him straight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, so that's it for now. I hope you liked it.  
> Next time I'll be writing Law's departure from Amazon Lily and what he did (according to me) during the two years Luffy was gone. If it doesn't turn out too long. I might squeeze in their meeting as well. Who knows?

**Author's Note:**

> Anyways I'm on tumblr with the exact same username, so if you want anything from me... hit me up.  
> And in case you're too lazy to look it up (no shame, I can totally relate) I'll just leave the link right here.  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/pitchblackfingernails
> 
> By the way, feel free to point out typos. I only bite when I'm really hungry.
> 
> Exeunt.


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